Feeding Reports
Staff SOP for logging each meal in the kennel system and knowing when low intake needs to be escalated.
Purpose
A dog on their first boarding stay barely touches breakfast. It's not unusual, first stays can do that to an appetite, and it doesn't need to be a crisis. But it does need to be logged, and if it keeps happening, it needs to be noticed. That's what the Feeding Report exists for: tracking food intake, meal by meal, in the kennel system, for training, health, and medication reasons.
At a Glance
- Log a Feeding Report electronically in the kennel system after every meal.
- A dog eating less, or nothing, on their first boarding visit is common. Past a day or two, it needs to be documented.
- Choose the option that matches where the dog is in the feeding process, and initial next to it: Prepared, Ate 0%, Ate 25%, Ate 50%, Ate 75%, Ate 100%, In Bed, or N/A.
- Under 50% of food for more than 2 days: notify the manager and notify the owner.
- A dog who needs to eat for health or medication reasons: notify the manager the moment a meal is skipped, don't wait for a pattern to form.
- Training dogs may have a meal or two withheld to build motivation, but food is never withheld for more than a day.
Immediate Actions
Logging Each Meal
Every meal gets logged electronically in the kennel system. Pick the option that matches where the dog actually is in the feeding process, and initial next to it: Prepared, Ate 0%, Ate 25%, Ate 50%, Ate 75%, Ate 100%, In Bed, or N/A. That range of options is what lets us keep close watch on food intake across a dog's whole stay, meal by meal.
When Intake Drops
Picture that same dog from breakfast still skipping meals a day later. One skipped meal on a first stay isn't unusual. A pattern is. If a dog goes more than 2 days eating less than 50% of their food, notify the manager and notify the owner. If a dog needs to eat for a health or medication reason, don't wait for that 2-day pattern: notify the manager as soon as a single meal gets skipped.
Dogs in active training may have a meal or two held back on purpose, to build motivation to work. Even then, food never gets withheld for more than a day.
Follow-Up Steps
- Keep initialing the correct feeding-status option after every meal, not just the meals where something looks off.
- Once a manager and owner have been notified for low intake, keep logging meals the same way so the pattern is visible going forward.
- If the reason for skipped meals is medical or medication-related, treat the notification as immediate, not something that waits for the log to show a trend.
Who to Ask
The manager on duty gets notified any time a dog crosses the 50%-for-2-days threshold, or immediately if a health or medication need means a skipped meal can't wait. For a dog refusing food alongside noticeable weight loss, see Food Refusal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should new hires know if a dog barely eats on their first boarding stay?
That it's common, and on its own it's not an emergency. Log it as usual in the kennel system. What matters is whether it keeps happening: past a day or two of reduced eating, it needs to be documented and watched.
What should new hires know if asked which feeding-status option to pick?
There are several, matched to where the dog is in the feeding process: Prepared, Ate 0%, Ate 25%, Ate 50%, Ate 75%, Ate 100%, In Bed, and N/A. Pick the one that fits and initial next to it every time.
What should new hires know if a training dog's meal gets withheld?
That it's allowed, a meal or two can be held back to build motivation, but it has a hard limit. Food never gets withheld for more than a day, training reasons or otherwise.